British patent specification No. 1342081 discloses a circuit for operating the toe pulling over and lasting machine of British patent specification No. 1010149, the latter specification corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 3,099,846. This prior art machine is operable on a shoe assembly that includes a last having an insole located on its bottom and an upper mounted thereon and comprises: a support for supporting the shoe assembly bottom-down; a toe pincers operable to grip the upper margin proximate to its toe end extremity; at least one side pincers located on each side of and forwardly of the toe pincers operable to grip the upper margin heelwardly of the portion of the upper margin gripped by the toe pincers; upper stretching means for effecting relative upward movement of the support with respect to the toe and side pincers to stretch the toe portion of the upper about the last; optionally operable pincers adjusting means for thereafter selectively adjusting each of the pincers heightwise to relocate the stretched upper about the last; wiping means actuable to wipe the toe portion of the upper margin against the insole; circuit means for causing the machine to first go through a preliminary stage wherein the toe pincers are actuated to grip the upper margin, then go through a primary stage wherein the side pincers are actuated to grip the upper margin and the upper stretching means is actuated, and then go through a secondary stage that is concluded by actuation of the wiping means; and a control for operating the circuit means as aforesaid.
The prior art machine has a selector movable between a first position and a second position. Circuitry so connects the control (disclosed in British specification No. 1342081 as a treadle), the circuit means, and the selector that when the selector is in a first position, a first actuation of the control (disclosed as a partial depression of the treadle) causes the machine to go through the preliminary stage after which the machine comes to a halt to enable the operator to place the upper margin properly in the side pincers, a second actuation of the control (disclosed as a full depression of the treadle followed by a release of the treadle) causes the machine to go through the primary stage and then come to a halt to enable actuation of the pincers adjusting means, and a third actuation of the control (disclosed as a second full depression of the treadle) causes the machine to go through the secondary stage. When the selector of the prior art machine is in its second position, a first actuation of the control causes the machine to go through the preliminary stage after which the machine comes to a halt and a second actuation of the control causes the machine to automatically go through the primary stage and the secondary stage without coming to a halt between the primary stage and the secondary stage.